User blog:Dual Energon/What I think makes HTTYD 2 the supremely better movie.
To be honest, I'm just an ordinary fan. I'm not head-over-heels in love with this franchise. The show - I don't treat it as canon. There's too many mistakes and horrible writing (in all 3 seasons) that it outweighs the positives. The graphic novels - I would want to read them. But they're not available where I live. When HTTYD 1 came out, I thought it was pretty average. Stoick is an annoying, incompetent and abusive father. I just can't give a damn about him in the first movie. In fact I wish he was killed by the Red Death. The romance between Hiccup and Astrid was so forced. No proper build-up to it. Seriously! Let's be realistic! It's gonna take more than a night flight for a proper romance to build up. And that stupid punch-and-gag is gonna get so over-used in the series. Are we supposed to actually care about the other kids? They don't make a damn difference other than to make Hiccup more miserable (Fishlegs doesn't - he's an exception) and - even worse - they don't receive any karma for it. In fact, none of the villagers receive any karma for their abuse of Hiccup. Not even an apology is given to Hiccup. Only Stoick apologizes - but it's a rushed one during battle, so it does not count! Let's also get the fact straight that Hiccup is a Gary Stu in the first movie. All that abuse everyone (bar Gobber, Fishlegs and the dragons) puts him through and he holds no ill will against them?! Lame Cliche! Let's be realistic! 99% of humans would be resentful after that kind of treatment. Now to be pretty honest, what got me to be a fan of this franchise is the sheer awesomeness of HTTYD 2. HTTYD 2's sheer awesomeness got me liking this franchise. All the protagnists (major and minor) were easy to care for this time around. They treat Hiccup as a human being this time that I actually give a damn about them. Stoick the Vast has vastly improved too. He's no longer an abusive father trying to force his way on his son. He lets his son take his own path, only intervening in extreme cases such as Drago. Astrid is no longer a violent, brash girlfriend. Now she's a mature, supporting and caring partner. She gives Hiccup his own place and space, and because of that in return Hiccup gives her so much more and both of them are better off for it. That annoying punch-and-kiss gag has dissapeared in the second movie, so she can actually be viewed as a positive female partner. The other kids actually play important roles in the battles and dragon races. And that love-triangle set an amusing tone to stop the movie from becoming too cynical - not to mention that it teaches audiences not to rush into love or force it upon others. Valka was an awesome, complex character. She stands as a reminder that you don't have to be an ass-kicker to be interesting. Stoick's sacrifice was well-pulled off. It redeemed him in the eyes of those who still held a bit of sourness towards him (I was one of those people), and for those who got attached to him it was heartwrenchingly tragic. Hiccup was not a Gary Stu this time around. His over-pacifistic ways made him not a saint but instead a pushover doormat. It got his father killed in battle and his tribe nearly wiped out. Hiccup accepting his responsibility to lead his people to change the world for the better was beautifully written. Rant's nearly over. Just wanted to project my views about why I view HTTYD 2 as the highest point of this franchise so far. Note that I was excluding the books in my statement. The books altogether make a far better story than the movies do, but that's for another time if one wants to ask me. Back to my main point... HTTYD 2 is the highest point of the franchise so far, with my reasons stated above. HTTYD 3 has its work cut out for itself. And I just wanted to say that you do not have to "love" the 1st Movie to become a fan of the movie-verse. I became a fan after watching the 2nd Movie. PS: Let my previous sentence stand as a testament to how awesome HTTYD 2 is. It actually made me a fan of a franchise I thought was average and had little potential. That's how good HTTYD 2 is. Category:Blog posts